Chapter 18

One day later, it was exactly the meeting time Aunt Xu had arranged.

The weather was on their side today—bright sunshine, a gentle breeze. Lin Wanting pulled Gu Qingqing along.

“Mom, I’m going out to buy something. I’ll take Qingqing with me.”

Qiao Yilan didn’t think much of it and simply told Lin Wanting to make a good impression.

Jin Chengyu was dressed in a brown Mao suit, looking very much like Jin Guanzhong. In fact, the clothes actually were Jin Guanzhong’s.

The agreed meeting place was a restaurant.

Lin Wanting led Gu Qingqing to the spot and, before leaving, reminded her, “Qingqing, remember, right now your name is Lin Wanting—you’re the young lady. Walk with your head up and chest out. If you really don’t know how, just slow down your movements and speech. Think about your pay. Now go!”

For the sake of her wages, Gu Qingqing followed Lin Wanting’s advice, slowly making her way to the designated window seat. Lin Wanting had already vanished without a trace.

Jin Chengyu had been waiting at the table, head down reading the newspaper.

“Hello, are you Jin Chengwu?” Gu Qingqing blurted, stumbling over her words in her hurry.

Jin Chengyu frowned and looked up. “You’re Lin Wanting?”

Gu Qingqing nodded repeatedly, her hands trembling uncontrollably, eyes lighting up as she stared, looking downright smitten.

Jin Chengyu kept frowning. He stood up, ready to leave, not even lasting a full minute.

“I’ve paid the bill. Enjoy yourself.”

Once outside, Jin Chengyu was irritated. A woman who could even get his name wrong was automatically out of the running. And seeing Gu Qingqing’s face—teeth bared, covered in red blotches—it was nothing like the glowing description Aunt Xu had given. In his mind, Aunt Xu’s portrayal was pure fantasy.

Gu Qingqing looked at the coffee cup in front of her. No point wasting it—she took a sip, but the bitterness made her both laugh and cry.

At last, she had fulfilled the young lady’s plan—this man definitely wouldn’t want the real Miss Lin now.

Meanwhile, Lin Wanting was out on a shopping spree. To match her new pearl necklace, she bought a pile of clothes.

While trying them on, she admired how much more refined she looked compared to before, convinced it was all thanks to that face mask. Unfortunately, the “check-in gift” promotion had never given her a duplicate so far.

Gu Qingqing came running to find Lin Wanting, looking miserable.

“What now? Why are you crying?”

“Miss, I barely sat down for a minute before he left!”

Lin Wanting was delighted—what a clever move. Just like that, she had gotten out of the blind date.

Gu Qingqing hadn’t even finished speaking: “But Miss, he really was so handsome… I was so nervous I called him the wrong name!”

Lin Wanting had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. It was exactly the kind of thing Gu Qingqing would do.

“You’ve just never seen the world. Do you think Wang Xing is handsome?”

Gu Qingqing nodded.

“Then there you go—being handsome is useless!” Besides, she now found Wang Xing utterly disgusting. A real shame the heavens had given him a decent face.

On the other side, the rejection had already been reported back to Aunt Xu, with reasons given in detail. Aunt Xu couldn’t figure out just how high Jin Chengyu’s standards were.

So she called Qiao Yilan to inform her.

Before Lin Wanting and Gu Qingqing even got home, Qiao Yilan already knew the result and the rejection reason. She couldn’t make sense of it.

As soon as the two walked in, they were caught: “You two just go shopping instead of doing anything serious. Tell me—why didn’t he like you?”

“Wow, news travels fast! I told you—his standards are high, there’s no way he’d like me.”

Lin Wanting quickly escaped to her room. Qiao Yilan, feeling upset, thought that rejecting was one thing, but why say something so harsh?

It turned out Jin Guanzhong had told Aunt Xu: ‘Lin Wanting has a big head, thick neck, and can’t even speak clearly.’

After thinking for a while, Qiao Yilan realized—that’s not my daughter at all; that’s Gu Qingqing!

Muttering under her breath, she suddenly suspected it really had been Gu Qingqing. She flung open Lin Wanting’s door.

“Gu Qingqing, did the young lady actually go to the blind date today?”

“She did…”

“Mom, don’t scare Qingqing. Qingqing, go do your chores.”

“This is nonsense, Tingting! Aunt Xu worked hard to arrange this, and you let her go instead?!”

Outside, Gu Qingqing felt wronged, worried the madam would fire her in anger.

Lin Wanting lost her temper too: “I told you long ago I wouldn’t go! I only did this to make you happy. When have you ever cared about what I want? You just force me to marry some strange old man.”

“I just wanted you to meet him—what if you liked him? Why are you so stubborn?”

That streak came from Lin Haifeng, who didn’t care much about his daughter’s marriage, only showing up when absolutely necessary.

The two argued fiercely until Lin Wanting shoved Qiao Yilan out, wanting peace and quiet.

Gu Qingqing, seeing the madam come out, fled to the kitchen—out of sight, out of trouble.

Lin Wanting hated that blind date man for causing such a fight with her mother.

Aunt Xu, for her part, felt sorry for Lin Wanting—she had done her best.

Lin Haifeng hadn’t come home for several days, tied up with Ren Meili and unable to shake her off. The factory business was struggling, but he didn’t bother with it either.

Meanwhile, Xia Jifeng was still dreaming of a comeback, running around borrowing money to return to his old trade.

But borrowing revealed the truth of their social circle—no one was willing to help; there was only coldness or people enjoying the spectacle.

“Old man, why don’t we just go back to farming?”

“Bah! It’s all your fault—go back to the countryside yourself.”

Xia Jifeng resented Zhang Luomeng deeply. He was still determined to earn enough to redeem their house.

Xia Xue, on the other hand, had been kicked back to the city by Wang Xing and had nowhere to live. She scraped by day to day, finally starting to understand the value of money.

She knew she had made mistakes, but even if she could redo it all, she’d still make the same choice. She believed it was fate.

She went to see her parents. They still had enough to eat, but seeing the outcome of their daughter’s marriage made them feel bitter. Still, there was nothing they could do—it had been her choice.

Xia Xue didn’t forget to ask about Lin Wanting’s situation.

Xia Jifeng shook his head. “That girl’s not the same as before. Now she’s sharp-tongued and tough!”

Xia Xue felt the same but couldn’t put her finger on why.

“Dad, maybe I should try borrowing money for you?”

Her real aim was to use this as an excuse to check on Lin Wanting’s life lately. If she found out about the blind date, Xia Xue figured she’d be too excited to sleep for three days straight.

Lin Wanting lay in bed, fuming. She knew her mother meant well, but after her past-life experience, she was afraid—convinced it would all end the same way.

“Miss, may I come in?”

“What is it?”

It turned out Gu Qingqing wanted to ask for an advance on the doubled portion of her salary—her family urgently needed money.

“Qingqing, you really saved me a big trouble this time.”

“But, Miss… he really was so handsome. Don’t you want to at least consider it?”